Blog
Enable Your Customers To Market For You
Raymond Opticians uses a clever background for pictures of their customers in their new frames. They create something "shareable" for their customers, making easy for them to tell their friends how awesome their optician is. Have you thought about doing something...
Priceless Commodities – Creating Value In Optical
Value comes from scarcity, something commodities, by definition, don’t have. Commodities are ubiquitous, easy to find, say, online. However, when a commodity is tied to an experience, a memory, or an individual or group identity, suddenly it’s valuable, priceless...
Have Opticians Become Consumers?
Seth Godin recently wrote a short piece on producers and consumers. In it he noted, In the short run, it's more fun to be a consumer. It sure seems like consumers have power. The customer is always right, of course. The consumer can walk away and shop somewhere else....
The Mom and Pop Business Meme Must Die
I’m sure you’ve seen it. It’s spread across Facebook and the rest of the internet like a plague. Every time I see it angers me. And it astounds me to see the people that perpetuate it. When you buy from a small "mom and pop" business, you are not helping a CEO buy a...
A Great Idea to Take Your Optical Viral
Chances are you are struggling to get much traction with your social media efforts. Many ECPs are getting involved in social media, but it seems the overwhelming majority are still having a hard time figuring out how to best utilize it. You do have social media...
Screwing Up: Your Chance To Shine
I recently came across this post on Google+. Shocking service from an optician who has just sent me an email saying please don't post negative things about us as it drives small businesses to the wall... then please get your act together and start delivering what you...
Complaints Are a Gift
Not long ago, an optician customer began to notice a consistent problem with prism in our freeform product. The deviations were only around a two to three degrees and maybe .25 diopters. His patients hadn't noticed, but the fact that he was seeing the problem only in...
Why Kiss the Feet of the People Who Kick You?
...when you can be anything that you want to. Our new anthem. 🙂 Enjoy...
No-Shows
How do you handle no-shows? Dr. Neil Gailmard, editor of Optometric Management’s Tip of the Week points out this seemingly innocuous policy decision is a window to the core of your customer service philosophy. Do you let them slide? Do you give them stern warnings?...
Spreading the Word
Nothing is more powerful in growing your business than word of mouth. So, after you’ve knocked your customers’ socks off with your unforgettable brand of customer service, give them a couple of gift certificates (for your store, of course) to be shared only with...